LESSON PLAN: AFGHANISTAN: PEOPLE, PLACES AND POLITICS
Background, Activities and Critical Analysis
By Lisa Prososki

Subject(s): secondary current events, social studies, political science, communication arts and journalism classes

Time: Three 90-minute class periods or five to six 45-minute class periods plus additional time for extension activities.

Objectives - Students will:

1. Assess their prior knowledge about Afghanistan, establish goals for what they want to learn about the country, and evaluate the accuracy of prior knowledge based on new learning.

2. Use critical reading and/or viewing skills to accurately complete a study guide related to Afghanistan's people, places and politics.

3. Participate in class discussion activities related to the people, places and politics of Afghanistan with particular attention to their interaction with the United States and current events.

4. Work in pairs or groups to complete a research project and presentation related to assigned topics/aspects of Afghan life or political issues.

5. Present their projects to classmates.

6. Complete a written response based on their class discussions and new knowledge about topics related to Afghanistan and its role in world politics.

To make these lesson plans better

Correlation to National Standards

Materials

• Preview Activity (printer-friendly PDF)
• Afghanistan Overview in PowerPoint OR Afghanistan Overview Handout (printer-friendly PDF)
• Afghanistan: People, Places and Politics Study Guide (printer-friendly PDF)
• Online NewsHour's In-depth Coverage of Afghanistan and the War on Terror
• Access to Internet and other primary source materials for project research
• Project Guidelines (printer-friendly PDF)
  

Procedure

NOTE: This lesson is broken up into three parts. Depending on the amount of time available for study, the lesson could be done in its entirety or Part 1 through 3 could be completed as stand-alone lessons.

Part 1: Background Information on Afghanistan

1. Introduce students to Afghanistan by directing them to the Preview Activity handout. Begin by asking students to complete column 1: What do I know about Afghanistan? Provide about 2 minutes for students to record their ideas.

2. Make a brief statement such as: "While Afghanistan is located far from the United States, it is a country that we hear about frequently in the news. Because of this, learning as much as we can about the country, its people, and the political issues connecting the United States and Afghanistan is important. Keeping that is mind, complete column 2: What would I like to learn about Afghanistan?" By providing a statement such as this, students will begin to see the importance of knowing about and understanding information related to Afghanistan and other foreign countries.

3. Explain to students that later in the lesson they will be coming back to the Preview Activity to discuss if what they knew was correct and to see if they were able to learn everything they wanted to know before the activity began.

4. Using the Afghanistan Overview Handout or the Afghanistan Overview PowerPoint, review the basic information provided so that students get an understanding of the geography, people and political issues related to Afghanistan. Have students complete the Afghanistan: People, Places and Politics Study Guide as you present the information.

5. Take time to discuss the answers to the study guide and encourage students to add details to their answers as you discuss each item.

Part 2: Learning In-depth Information About Afghanistan

Note: Depending on the specific focus of your lesson, there are several ways to proceed as you begin Part 2. Those with a short amount of time or a specific area of focus should select one or two of the subject areas listed and have students create projects based on that topic. For those who want a lesson with a broader view or who have a greater amount of time available, all topics could be selected.

TOPIC LIST:

• Afghanistan's Geography: How Does the Lay of the Land Keep the Country Poor?
• A Day in the Life: Describe a typical day for a person from one of Afghanistan's main ethnic groups. Choose from Uzbeks, Hazara, Aimaqs, Turkmen and Kirghiz, Pashtun, Tajik, Baluch and Nuristanis.
• The Role of Women in Afghanistan: look at what it is today and how it has changed over the past 10 years.
• The Government of Afghanistan: Its Structure and Important People
• The Economy of Afghanistan
• Illegal Drugs and Traffickers in Afghanistan
• Who am I? (research key figures such as Hamid Karzai, Mullah Mohammad Omar, Osama bin Laden and other political figures)
• The al-Qaida Connection: Terrorists in Afghanistan
• The Taliban: Its History, Rule and Future
• Other: Select your own topic with teacher approval.

6. Now that students have some basic knowledge about Afghanistan, explain to students that they will now have an opportunity to learn more about one/several important aspects of life in Afghanistan. From the list below, select the topics you would like students to use as the focus for their project. Arrange students into pairs and provide them with their topic assignment.

7. Distribute the Project Guidelines and review them with the class. Provide at least one class period for students to work with their partner to prepare their project. Information can be found at the Online NewsHour's In-depth Coverage of Afghanistan and the War on Terror. Other PBS Internet sources are listed on page two of the Project Guidelines. Please review Internet materials to be sure they are appropriate for your class and class level.

8. When all projects have been completed, provide class time for project presentations.

9. After all groups have made their presentations, direct students to get their Preview Activity sheets out. Provide students with approximately 5 minutes to check to see if they were correct in the information they recorded under the "What do I know about Afghanistan?" column and if they were able to find the answers related to the "What do I want to learn about Afghanistan?" column ideas.

Part 3: Afghanistan and the United States

10. To help students understand why what they learned about Afghanistan is important, facilitate a class discussion/debate OR assign students to complete essay questions, a theme or an essay related to what they have learned using questions such as:

• Discuss the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. Talk about why our government is concerned with the government and politics of Afghanistan when it is located so far from the United States.
• Discuss why keeping groups such as the Taliban out of power in countries like Afghanistan is important to the United States and other countries.
• Why are groups such as al-Qaida able to operate in a country like Afghanistan?
• Why are groups like al-Qaida a threat to the United States and to maintaining peace in the Middle East?
• Explain why having an understanding of the lifestyle of the average Afghan is important for U.S. citizens.
• Discuss reasons why the United States as well as many other countries and the United Nations are working so hard to provide assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
• What do you think would happen if the United States and other world powers abandoned their work in Afghanistan and left it up to the country and its leaders to take care of themselves? What are the potential consequences of taking this type of action?
• By studying Afghanistan, how have you gained a greater understanding of international relations and the role of the United States in assisting other countries and governments?
• Do you believe that the United States should continue to keep a military presence in Afghanistan? Why?

11. As a closing activity, ask students to compose a piece of creative writing (a poem, short story, letter, journal entry, skit, etc.) that reflects what they have learned about life in Afghanistan. Students should share their work in small groups.

Extension Activities:

1. As a class, discuss the role of Afghanistan in world politics and document the ongoing relationship of Afghanistan and other countries by having students collect newspaper and magazine articles about current events related to Afghanistan. Post these on a bulletin board and discuss weekly.

2. Invite people who are from or who have been to Afghanistan on military missions or as relief workers in to the classroom to answer student questions about life in Afghanistan. Students should prepare questions in advance to facilitate thorough discussion of information by the guest speaker.

Correlation to National Standards
McRel Compendium of K-12 Standards Addressed:

Geography
Standard 1: Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools
and technologies
Standard 2: Knows the location of places, geographic features and patterns of the environment
Standard 3: Understands the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of the Earth's
surface
Standard 4: Understands the physical and human characteristics of place
Standard 5: Understands the concept of regions
Standard 6: Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and
regions
Standard 9: Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human populations on the
Earth's surface
Standard 10: Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics
Standard 18: Understands global development and environmental issues

World History
Standard 45: Understands major global trends since World War II.

Language Arts
Writing
Standard 1: Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
Standard 4: Gathers and uses information for research purposes

Reading
Standard 5: Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process
Standard 7: Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of
informational texts

Listening and Speaking
Standard 8: Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes

Viewing
Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media

Working with Others
Standard 1: Contributes to the overall effort of a group
Standard 4: Displays effective interpersonal communication skills

Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 1: Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument
Standard 6: Applies decision-making techniques

About the Author: Lisa Prososki is an independent educational consultant and instructional design specialist who taught middle school and high school social studies, English, reading, and technology courses for 12 years. Prososki has worked with PBS TeacherSource and has authored and edited many lesson plans and materials for various PBS programs over the past 10 years. In addition to conducting workshops for teachers at various state and national meetings, Prososki works as an editor, creates a wide range of educational and training materials for corporate clients, and has authored one book.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.